What Being Made Redundant Taught Me About Life

When I got my job, I was blissfully happy in the work that I was doing and the company I was working for. Not only did my job give me a sense of accomplishment, but the financial aspect always spurred me on to learn more and develop my skills.

Unfortunately, that experience got cut when I was made redundant. Me, along with a handful of other staff within our company, got laid-off and like many other people who find themselves unemployed, I was scared about what that meant for my career.

However, it ended up being one of the best things that could've happened to me (and I don't say that lightly!). Here's why:

I embraced change

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a creature of habit and I love routine. However, being made redundant gave my usual routine a complete overhaul; something that I wasn't prepared for, but embraced.

Being made redundant made me realise one key thing about stress: it usually happens when you're out of control. Because losing my job wasn't something that I planned or wanted, the stress was about to become too much. That was until the following quote popped into my mind:

"Never stress about what you can't control."

Yes, it sounds stupidly simple but it's SO true. I had no control over the redundancy, so why should I stress about it?

Learning to embrace change was one of the most valuable things that I took away from my redundancy as I transferred the skills learned here into other areas of my life and experienced less worry.

I found a new job (that I enjoy even more)

You know what they say - money makes the world go round. Unfortunately, it's true, but it meant that when I was made redundant, my income was cut dramatically.

I worried about how I'd keep a roof over my head. Just how many other people who lose their job unexpectedly feel, being forced out of a job is scary and it can take time to go through the recruitment process for another company.

Thankfully, the company that made me redundant offered outplacement services that gave laid-off staff additional support like counselling and secret access to new jobs before they were advertised.

Turns out, there is more to life than cubicle work and I love my current job more than I did the one I was made redundant from!

I learnt new skills

Without sounding over dramatic, being made redundant made me feel like I had to fend for myself. It feels like a big world out there and if you're not "in" with the right people, it can be isolating. Plus, unexpectedly being told that you've lost your job through no fault of your own shows how cut-throat some industries can really be.

I initially got the job by going through a recruitment agency. However, the outplacement services meant that I had access to additional support in which I could turn my passion into skills.

This is how I learnt that I could make a career from writing and I'm so pleased that I now live a life that I love.

After being made redundant, I learnt a lot about life - and myself. I learned that it was possible to follow my dreams and being unintentionally pushed out of my comfort zone was more valuable to my career than I could ever have imagined!